The RNZAF operated nine Lockheed Lodestars during the war, serving in the transport role in No.s 40, 41 ands 42 Squadrons.
A tenth Lodestar also passed through the RNZAF’s books for paperwork reasons after it was stolen by an apprentice mechanic and crashed at Mangere!
I was just looking at this page that has a brief history of each Lodestar,
http://www.adf-serials.com/nz-serials/
and I wonder if any of them still exist today in collections. Namely, to quote the last known whereabouts from the site:
NZ3507 c/n 18-2381 To Houston Aircraft Sales as N171Q. To C. McAlpine, Houston, Texas by 1966 but had disappeared from the register by 1967.
NZ3509 c/n 18-2383 To British-American Oil Company as CF-BAL by 1966. Reported to be active in Canada as late as 1990.
NZ3512 c/n 18-2554 To Kelly Springfield Tire Company, Cumberland, Maryland registered as N55KS by 1966.
NZ3513 c/n 18-2555 Sold to Union Sugar Corporation, San Francisco, California and registered N611N. To Specialty Union Corporation by 1966.
NZ3514 c/n 18-2556 To B.F. Goodrich as N7000 by 1966. Had disappeared from the register by 1971.
NZ3515 18-2550 To Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company as N7611 by 1966. To May Fran Manufacturing Company. To Claver Distribution Co, Maple Heights, Ohio in August 1968.
Does anyone know if any of these still exists in a museum, collection or even flying condition? Sadly no genuine RNZAF example survives in NZ, all the others were broken up or crashed. We do have three representatives, two came here after the war to become topdressers. One is in Auckland at Motat, the other with GAPS in Gisborne. The third came a few years back to Wanaka and used to fly. I’d love it if one of the RNZAF ones could return and wear its military colours.
By: l.garey - 15th March 2006 at 06:41
Singapore Lodestar
I was interested to see these messages about Lodestars. There was one on the dump at Seletar, Singapore, that I saw there on 16 July 1989. It was N5135, and was in reasonable condition, except that it was engineless. I tried to persuade the authorities to preserve it, but to no avail. Anyone know what happened to it?
By: flyingkiwi2 - 22nd February 2005 at 15:17
Loadstars
Hi Dave,
Have been scanning some old negative of mine…
This is the example that was near Wanaka in 2001. Needed a little TLC then, don’t know what condition it’s in now. 🙁
“Flew the Coop”
By: Dave Homewood - 9th February 2005 at 05:00
Thnak you chaps. Sad news there.
Cheers anyway. At least they got a lot of use postwar unlike most of our other frontline aircraft. Good luck with that BOAC airframe David.
Dave
By: T J Johansen - 8th February 2005 at 22:02
Hi Dave,
According to Landings.com 18-2556 N7000 is still registred to Fly Safe Ltd. Inc. of Rockford, IL. I do not know if the plane survives, or if it is a lingering registration.
18-2381 N171Q was destroyed in a fatal crash in Bahamas Nov. 12, 64.
18-2550 N7611 crashed in Boca Raton on April 23, 73. NFK!
T J
By: David Burke - 8th February 2005 at 21:16
Dave- Sad news I am afraid. The only potential survivors are c/n 2555 which was last reported in use as spares at Fort Lauderdale in the early 1980’s and very possibly
the remains of c/n 2383 which came to grief at Wales, Alaska in 1972.
I am a great fan of the Lodestar – we have absolutely nothing of the type in the U.K and it’s a great shame. I have tried to trace former B.O.A.C wartime service machines but most have disappeared in the last twenty years. I know of one derelict
in the U.S and I must make efforts to try to rescue her.
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February 8, 2005 at 12:14 pm